What medications are you taking? I believe I had read once that long term use of prednisone can cause some issues with concentration, loss of memory, etc.

Prednisone did not work for me as it took so many years to get a diagnosis. I am taking immunosuppressants and tramadol as a pain killer.

You mention you are taking immunosuppressants. What are you taking? Some are chemo drugs. You can experience "brain fog" from them. I also wonder if the Tramadol is having that effect. It made me sleepy and groggy all day.

Tramadol has no groggy effects on me. i am taking imuran. Have been for 3 years now as CPK is only coming down very slowly.

I'm not an expert on Imuran but I did look it up. One of the most common side effects is nausea. It says if you break you dose up, that can resolve it.

If I were in your shoes, I would call your doctor and discuss your symptoms and figure out what you can do to help feel better.

I'm not an expert on Imuran but I did look it up. One of the most common side effects is nausea. It says if you break you dose up, that can resolve it.

If I were in your shoes, I would call your doctor and discuss your symptoms and figure out what you can do to help feel better.

Hello Freelee,

I feel like my brain is scrambled too. I cannot focus for long on a project. I keep putting off some simple projects because I just cannot tolerate the thought of doing them. I get rattled easily and cannot deal with stress at all. My hands start to shake if I get stressed or overdue exercise. I tend to voice my opinion more freely and have avoided some party situations because I'm not sure if the crowd and my mouth will be a good combination.

I'm assuming these are effects of the meds and hope they will subside if I ever get off the meds. I'm trying to find the mindset that will allow me to just cope with all of this better and that might take some weight off my mind and make everything else easier to deal with.

If you feel scared and like you are going crazy, it is probably a good idea to talk to a professional who can give you some coping strategies, but you are not alone in the loss of mental abilities.

Good luck and peace,
Kathleen

Hi, freelee, it's good to see you again. We've missed you. As to your question, yes, I struggle with memory and mental processing issues. Before PM I could keep tons of things straight in my brain. Now I must write everything down (and hope I remember to read the list). One of my most frustrating problems is slow mental processing, which delays my responses to questions or comments. Others have these issues, too. Here is a link to a recent post about the matter. Also, in Reply #3, I provided a link to an even older post about memory problems. After reading these two posts, I think you will see that you are in "good company." But don't hesitate to speak with your physician. S/he might be able to make recommendations.
http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Polymyositis-and-Dermatomyositis/forum/14804907-memory

Freelee, I relate to what you are saying about brain fog. Today, my neurologist told me I may have epilepsy. It is abnormal electrical activity in the brain causing right lobe temporal seizures that are very small. I was surprised by the diagnosis. I must go back in January for a three day ambulatory EEG to solidify the diagnosis. (This is to prove to me that I actually have the diagnosis, but the doctor wanted to start me on epilepsy meds today since I "may have" epilepsy.)

I know that methotrexate eats the white matter of the brain and can cause multiple sclerosis if taken for a long period of time. Taking folic acid stops MTX from eating the brains white matter. Be sure to take folic acid daily.

DM has a lot of surprises like the one I had today. I know that if your brain fog is disruptive and annoying, then do see the neurologist. It is important to see the neuro once a year anyway. I hope you will get a better diagnosis than the one I received. Keep us posted

Hi Freelee, I have DM confirmed by a biopsy. My blood tests have all been in the normal range and therefore the docs won't give me meds. I am not an alarmist but have long thought that DM causes a decrease in brain activity. Why? DM attacks the capillaries to the muscles causing the atrophy. When I asked my doc how the disease knew to attack only those capillaries I was given a general answer about how they don't know much yet about DM. I also suffer headaches and a tight scalp rash that has a warm feeling.

Having the stress of this disease may cause some of the symptoms you are describing too. I have the symptoms you describe above and just try to work around them using to do lists,
etc.

I wish you well in your journey and hope you recover soon.

I have the brain fog and cognitive difficulties too. I have PM and ILd. I take prednisone and Cellcept. I have asked if it is the meds or the Myositis and haven't received a direct answer. I have issues with memory, get overwhelmed easily, and can do paperwork only so much at a time and slowly.

Know you are not alone and we are here for you! -:)

I also having foggy memory and have to ask if I have already said something. I can barely sing a song in church because I see one word in the hymnal and will say another. Work really stresses my brain. I stopped driving a few months ago because of my fear that I would cause an accident. I have been on Prednisone and Cellcept for over a year. Each time I talk with my doctors about it, they tell me Prednisone is an awful drug, so I assume it is the Prednisone. I am again decreasing my Prednisone. The way I am going if it doesn't improve I will need to come out on disability, at least for a while.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I will follow up on some of these things with the neuro - i go this week.

Yep, there are times I can not think of the name of common things or I forget people's names. My rheumy says its because of fatigue but I wonder if the immuran isn't the culprit

I saw on NBC Nightly news tonight a report about chemo drugs causing "chemo brain" - memory and decision making problems. They ran a study and did MRI's before chemo and after and there was a change. So I think it's the meds. They mentioned it can last even after you get off them but fades over time. Interesting.